Former NFL ref Mike Carey dissed the Redskins for years

Mike Carey won’t be officiating your NFL games this season. In the event you missed it, he retired from being a referee and has joined CBS Sports and the NFL Network for game and rules analysis.

Aside from being an astute expert on the game of football, it seems Carey is also socially conscious. It has been revealed that he stopped officiating games for the NFL’s Washington Redskins, whose team name has been stirring controversy for years, because he found the name to be “disrespectful.”

Once Carey, whose brother, Don Carey, is also a former official, made his request to his superiors it was granted with no pushback. Week 1 of the 2006 season was the last time the younger Carey officiated a game in “Washington” — which is the only way he refers to the team/organization.

Most striking to me, is that Mike Carey made these moves in silence. That, my friends, is a sign of a man with integrity.

Who will be the next athlete/sports figure to stand up for their beliefs? Who will be the courageous one?